Folklore of the Asia

Pacific
THROUGH THE MIST & DOWN UNDER WITH
VICTORIA YU
 Why Folklore?

 Definition: the traditional beliefs, customs, and

stories of a community, passed through the
generations by word of mouth.

 Global Commonalities
 Origin Myths

 Where every culture and peoples begin

 Gives an idea of the patterns and beliefs of the

people

 What are some local myths in this area?

 Chinese Origin Myths

 盘古辟天地 Pangu Divides Earth & Sky

 女娲创人 Nüwa Creates People

 女娲补天 Nüwa Mends the Sky

 盘古辟天地
Pangu Divides Earth & Sky
 Pangu was the first semidivine human

 Was born into an egg-like world of yin-yang chaos

(混沌)

 Began to grow and eventually broke out of the egg.

The top yang became the heavenly skies, while the
turpid ying became the rich earth.
 盘古辟天地
Pangu Divides Earth & Sky
 盘古辟天地
Pangu Divides Earth & Sky
 He was afraid the earth and sky
would merge again and propped
it up with his arms, growing 3
meters a day.

 When it seemed that the earth

and sky would remain fixed, he
collapsed never to rise again.

 After he died, his body separated

and helped create the world.
 女娲创人
Nüwa Creates People
 Nuwa made men by molding
them out of yellow clay
 On the seventh day, she molded a
man in her image. The work was
so demanding that Nüwa's
strength could barely measure up.
 She dipped a piece of rope into
mud, lifted it, and the droplets
that fell became men.
 Men molded by hand became rich
nobles, while those made with the
rope were poor and lowly.
 女娲补天
Nüwa Mends the Sky
 Demons began fighting and
broke the pillars holding the
heavens up high.
 To save the lives of those she had
created, Nüwa worked
unceasingly, melting down the
five-colored stones in a tortoise
shell to mend the breach.
 Exhausted by her toil, Nüwa lay
down on the earth and was
transformed into a vast mountain
range and nurtured the land.
 Korean Origin Myths

 The Changsega of
Hamheung,

 The Sirumal of Seoul

 The Cheonjiwang
Bonpuri of Jeju Island
Cheonjiwang Bonpuri
천지왕 본풀이
 Cheonjiwang Bonpuri
천지왕 본풀이
 “Born into a world of “chaos” that separated into
heaven and earth

 From the sky fell a clear blue drop of dew, and from
the earth rose a dark black drop of dew. Humans
and gods formed from the drops of dew.

 The leader of the gods, Cheongjiwang awoke to the

cry of three roosters, Emperors of the Earth, Sky,
and Humans.

 To appease them, he made two suns and two

moons, which rose and fell every day and night.
 Cheonjiwang Bonpuri
천지왕 본풀이
 Sumyeong Jangja’s Hubris
 The first to tame the beasts, King of the Human World
 He kept all crop for himself and only gave the people
enough to avoid starvation. With his nine horses,
bulls, and bloodhounds, he was invincible. He
proclaimed, “who dare subdue me?”
 Cheonjiwang was infuriated by the boast and invaded
Sumyeong Janja’s Kingdom.
 He subdued the man after a struggle and before
returning to the heavens, spend a night at
Grandmother Baekju’s cottage.
 Cheonjiwang Bonpuri
천지왕 본풀이
 Cheonjiwang fell in love with Baekju’s daughter, Wise Girl

 They had two children and when Cheonjiwang left for the
heavens, he told Grandmother Baekju to name them Great
Star and Little and gave her two gourds.

 The boys grew up and found out their father lived in the
heavens, planted the gourds, and climbed the vines to reach
his throne.

 Cheonjiwang planned a competition for the boys. The winner

would rule over humans and the lose over the netherworld.

 Little Star cheated and Great Star was forced to rule the
netherworld.
Cheonjiwang Bonpuri
천지왕 본풀이
 Cheonjiwang Bonpuri
천지왕 본풀이
 Little Star killed Sumyeong Jangja and destroyed his
kingdom. He found out all beings could speak. The two
suns and moons caused many people to burn or freeze to
death. Humans were aggressive, promiscuous, unjust,
and were great liars and tricksters.
 Small Star asked Great Star for help and Great Star
prepared the Cheongeunsal, his two arrows, and five
sacks of pine dust. He shot down one sun and moon and
rendered all plants and animals speechless with the pine
dust.
 But Little Star forgot to tell Great Star about the humans’
bad habits.
 Vietnamese Creation Myth

 The People of the

Dragon and Fairies

 Lạc Long Quân &

Âu Cơ

 The first 100

Vietnamese
Families
 Lạc Long Quân & Âu Cơ

 Âu Cơ was the wife of Lạc Long Quân and gave birth to

a sac containing 100 eggs, which is the origin of the 100
Vietnamese family names.

 Lạc Long Quân told her one day, “I am descended from

the dragons, you from fairies. We are as incompatible as
water is with fire. So we cannot continue in harmony.”

 He takes 50 of the children to the sea while she takes the

other 50 children to the mountains.

 The eldest son, who followed the mother, later became

the successor. The descendants became the Hung Kings
of northern Vietnam.
Singapura
 “Lion City”

 Sang Nila
Utama, or Sri Tri
Buana, was once
the ruler of the
Srivijaya Empire
at Sumatra.

 Went on an
expedition in the
13th C
 Singapura

 He discovered an island with white sandy shores

called Temasek

 A storm nearly capsized the boat

 Sang Nila Utama throws his crown into the water

 His crew landed and saw a lion, an auspicious

symbol

 Names the island Singapura

 Merlion
 Villagers of the south coast
of Temasek are awakened
by a storm
 A bright light emerged
from the southern waters
 A massive half lion half fish
beast fights with the raging
nature
 Winning the battle, the
beast stands tall above
Sentosa and then retreats
into the water
Australian Aboriginal
Origin Myth
 Australian Aboriginal
Origin Myth
 Dreamtime – the creation of
the gods and spirits
 The world was first barren
land, an empty void.
 Wandjina, the creator,
brought our ancestors from
the earth and the seas and
thus life began.
 Our ancestors were able to
shape shift between human
and animal.
 Australian Aboriginal
Origin Myth
 The god Baiame later arrives from the skies with his
wife Birrahgnooloo (Emu, goddess of fertility).

 Baiame gave the first rules to humans, forbidding

them to eat the animals.

 The gods then spent time with the humans, teaching

them and helping them evolve. Later, mankind
began to kill and eat animals. They were caught and
punished by the god.
New Zealand Maori Origin
Myth
 “Te Kore” – “The beginning was
emptiness and nothing existed”
 Ranginui (Rangi) – God of Sky
Papatuanuku (Papa) – God of Earth
 They have multiple children yet the
children must live in the cramped
darkness of their parents’ locked
embrace.
 Tane, the god of forests, convinces his
siblings to help pull their parents apart.
 The children pushed and pulled and
Tane was able to pry them apart.
New Zealand Maori Origin
Myth
 Even though the kids had agreed to
separate the parents, Tawhiri
(Tawhirimatea), the god of weather and
storms, got angry after seeing his parents
cry.
 He launched an attack on his brothers,
though at some point Papa decided to
hide the other children to save them from
Tawhiri’s wrath.
 Mankind originated when the god of the
forest, Tane (Tanematua), used red ochre
to form the first human and breathed into
it.
New Zealand Maori Origin
Myth
 Tane had performed numerous experiments for creating
and animating creatures, during which different trees
were created.
 Tāne also searched for heavenly bodies as lights so that
his father would be appropriately dressed. He obtained
the stars and threw them up, along with the moon and
the sun.
 But Rangi and Papa continued to grieve for each other.
Rangi's tears fall towards Papa to show how much he
loves her. When mist rises from the forests, these are
Papa's sighs as the warmth of her body yearns for Rangi
and continues to nurture mankind.
 Samoan Creation Legend

 There was only the heavens and

water covered the earth

 The god Tagaloa looked down

and wanted to create a place he
could stand and rest

 Made a rock called Manu’atele

(Greater Manu’a). He then split
it into smaller ones thus created
Savai’I, Upilu, Tonga, Fiji, and
the other islands scattered across
the ocean
Samoan Creation Legend

 Tagaloa then put a sacred vine

to grow over the rocks
 Leaves decayed and from
them came worms
 He gave the worms heads,
limbs, and a beating heart –
thus there were people.
 Each man and woman
populated a separate island
and it named after them
 What Connects Them?

 DISCUSSION:
 What do these stories all have in common?
 How do they differ?
 How do you think similar stories are formed in parts
of the world that are entirely isolated from each other?
 Which were your favorite and why? Why not?

 NOW WRITE YOUR OWN ORIGIN MYTH! ^_^